Patient, Public & Media Information

Board Approves CPG on Management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

During its meeting on Monday, Feb. 29, the AAOS Board of
Directors appointed the chair of the 2017 Nominating Committee, adopted a
Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) on the Management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome,
and voted to support the Choosing Wisely
initiative and refer the public and patients to AAOS-prepared resources at the
OrthoGuidelines website (www.orthoguidelines.org).
It also presented certificates to several retiring Board members and one Council
Chair, whose terms end with the 2016 Annual Meeting, recognizing the efforts of
those individuals on behalf of the AAOS.

Nominating
Committee Chair and Members The AAOS Board appointed Past President Joshua J. Jacobs, MD, to serve as chair of the 2017 Nominating
Committee. At the Association Business Meeting on Thursday, March 3,
nominations for the other members of the 2017 Nominating Committee will be
accepted from the fellowship. Six members will be elected by the fellowship
after the Annual Meeting. The 2017 Nominating Committee will be responsible for
selecting the slate of officers and other positions for the upcoming year.

Members of the 2015-2016 AAOS Board of Directors take a break from their Monday meeting for a final group photo.

CPG on Management
of Carpal Tunnel SyndromeSince 2006, the AAOS has been developing evidence-based CPGs to improve
patient care. The AAOS Committee on Evidence-Based Quality and Value appoints
work groups to develop guidelines as educational tools for orthopaedic
surgeons. The work groups consist of AAOS physician members and members of
other specialty organizations who define the scope of the guideline by
developing recommendations and defining inclusion criteria for the literature
search. The AAOS Guidelines Unit supports members with data analyses and
pertinent methodologic information.

The most recent CPG, Management of Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome, consists of 35 recommendations with varying overall strength of
evidence. Among the recommendations with “strong” levels of evidence (evidence
from two or more “high”-quality studies with consistent findings for
recommending for or against an intervention) were the following:

Strong evidence supports that surgical treatment
of carpal tunnel syndrome should have a greater treatment benefit at 6 and 12
months as compared to splinting, NSAIDs/therapy, and a single steroid
injection.

The Academy Board of Directors approved the
guideline unanimously. The new CPG can be reviewed in its entirety on the
Academy’s OrthoGuidelines website (www.orthoguidelines.org).

Kevin J. Bozic, MD,
MBA, Chair, Council on Research and Quality, presents the new CPG on Management
of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome to the AAOS Board of Directors.

Choosing WiselyThe Choosing Wisely Campaign is
an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation,
with the goal of advancing a national dialogue on avoiding wasteful or unnecessary
medical tests, treatments, and procedures. The AAOS developed a Choosing Wisely list in 2013. AAOS
received some negative publicity regarding this list, with critics citing the
AAOS recommendations as weak.

In 2015 and 2016, the Council on Research and Quality
(CORQ) again reviewed the Choosing Wisely
campaign and the history of the Academy’s recommendations. At the Board meeting
on Monday, CORQ recommended the Academy adopt and issue a second Choosing Wisely list based on strong
evidence from the existing clinical practice guideline recommendations already
approved by the Board of Directors and published on the AAOS website.

A thorough discussion ensued. Ultimately, the Board voted
to support the Choosing Wisely
initiative, and refer physicians and patients to the AAOS OrthoGuidelines
website for additional information.

Additional
businessThe Board also addressed several other items requiring action. The Board
approved the following:

Revised language for CPGs regarding a CPG’s intended
users

Recommendations from the Quality Outcomes Data Work
Group, previously charged with investigating partnership opportunities for the
collection of quality data and investigation and evaluation of appropriate
instruments (such as Patient Reported Outcomes)

A recommendation by the AAOS Performance Measures
Committee regarding its review of 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System
(PQRS) performance measures and identification of a set of PQRS performance
measures that AAOS members can use to satisfy the 2016 quality reporting
requirements

In addition, a series of information and position
statements from various CORQ committees were approved: revisions to AAOS
Information Statement 1019–Implant Device Recalls; revisions to AAOS Position
Statement 1169–Consensus Standard for Medical Devices; revisions to AAOS
Position Statement 1177–Off Label Use of Medical Products; and the sunsetting
of Position Statement 1153–The Effects of Tobacco Exposure on the
Musculoskeletal System and the adoption of a new Information Statement on
Tobacco Use and Orthopaedic Surgery. A request from the Council on Advocacy for
administrative funding of the Political Action Committee of the American
Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (Orthopaedic PAC) was approved. A request
for support of a 2017 Bone and Joint Fitness and Fun Family Event Day:
Volunteer Community Project was approved. A funding request from the Board of
Councilors (BOC) for developing a member awareness video promoting the value of
AAOS membership (and the BOC’s role in the AAOS) was approved. Finally, a
proposal from the Resident Assembly was approved regarding how that body’s
Action Items—similar to the advisory opinions submitted by the BOC and Board of
Specialty Societies—should be considered by the AAOS.

Retiring board
members and Council Chair recognizedAt the conclusion of the meeting, AAOS Board President David D. Teuscher, MD, recognized the service of those board
members and Council chair whose terms end with the 2016 Annual Meeting: Chair
of the Council on Research and Quality Kevin
J. Bozic, MD, MBA; Member-at-Large Jennifer
M. Weiss, MD; Member-at-Large Raj D.
Rao, MD; Chair of the Board of Specialty Societies David A. Halsey, MD; Chair of the Board of Councilors David J. Mansfield, MD; and Treasurer
and Past President Frederick M. Azar,
MD. In turn, First Vice-President Gerald
R. Williams, Jr, MD, recognized the service of outgoing Board President Dr.
Teuscher.